Jane Eyre: Religious or Spiritual? Jane Eyre follows the story of an orphan girl from childhood to adulthood during which she overcame a great number of difficulties and stayed true to herself even in the face of adversity. Jane did this by adhering to practicality and spirituality rather than religious practices. She started off as a child questioning God and authority but with the passage of time her belief in God became stronger and that in other worldly authorities became weaker. Jane did not follow religion as a chore but as something in which she had real interest. As her devotion to the spiritual aspect of the religion became stronger she became more centered, confidant and mature. However, she did not believe in imposing religion on anybody and therefore had a disregard for the clergy of the likes of Mr. Broklehurst and St. John. Even as a child of ten years of age, Jane had a clear concept about punishment in religion and how to avoid it. When Mr. Broklehurst asked her about hell she knew what it is and had an idea of evading that place. Thus, even at a young age she believed more in herself than in religious doctrines and thought that by achieving the feat of not dying based on her own strength, she could avoid hell. Jane had already read the Bible and had chosen favorites among the chapters. However, it seems that she regarded these chapters as interesting reads rather than objects of worship and veneration as is expected from a young child who has been taught religion in a traditional way. Jane, thus did not have faith in religion and God as a young child and in times of need she preferred to rely on her own abilities rather than on Divine intervention....
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